Chinese word

不安

Pronunciation

Pinyinbù ān

Meaning

  • adjectiveuneasy

Example

晚上独自在家时我会感到不安。wǎn shàng dú zì zài jiā shí wǒ huì gǎn dào bù ān

I feel uneasy when I am home alone at night.

Illustration for 不安 (uneasy)

More examples

收到陌生短信后，她有点不安。shōu dào mò shēng duǎn xìn hòu tā yóu diǎn bù ān

After she received a text message from a stranger, she felt a little uneasy.

Core concept

A person's inner calm is missing, leaving the mind unable to feel secure.

Common phrases

  • 心里有点不安xīn lǐ yóu diǎn bù ān

    feel slightly uneasy

  • 对变化感到不安duì biàn huà gǎn dào bù ān

    feel uneasy about changes

  • 觉得不安jué de bù ān

    feel uneasy

Similar words

担心dān xīn: Feeling worried about what may happen or how something may turn out.
紧张jǐn zhāng: Feeling tense and nervous in a way that can make the body or voice stiff.

Definition in Chinese

感到心里不安，不能放心，缺乏安全感。gǎn dào xīn lǐ bù ān bù néng fàng xīn quē fá ān quán gǎn

Word origin

不安 (bùān, "uneasy") joins 不 (bù, "not") with 安 (ān, "safe and settled"), creating the image of calm or security being absent.

Usage tips

  • As an adjective, it can describe either a person or an inner feeling, so an English sentence often uses a verb such as feel to present the experience.

Other meanings

  • anxietynoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 不安感bù ān gǎnsense of uneasenoun

Word lists with this word